The Black Orchid

by Sawyer Caine

  Frederick knelt beside the altar and cut Nekai loose, then came to Nekana and me and freed us as well. My legs were numb from being bound so tightly, and I fell to the tiles, unable to stand. Nekana helped me sit up, then looked in the direction of the altar. I followed her gaze and was astounded at what I beheld.

  Nekai stood face to face with a young man. The boy was tall and muscular like Nekai. He wore the ceremonial headband with three feathers hanging from the side of it and was wrapped in a red robe that hung from his wide shoulders with a gold clasp at his neck. He seemed almost transparent and yet had visible form. They spoke together in hushed tones in their language, and the boy raised his hand and placed it on Nekai’s shoulder, then pulled Nekai closer to him, pressing their foreheads together. They stayed thus for a moment, then the boy faced our group and smiled.

  “He is the murdered prince whose body is missing from the slab. He is telling Nekai that he was freed from this place when your grandfather took the idol. Your idol was his. They were placed above the murdered princes to keep their spirits here in the pyramid to act as guardians over the treasure. The prince is asking us to free the other spirits. We must remove the idols from the room below and destroy them. If we do this, they will be able to leave this place and be free,” she translated.

  “Let’s help them,” Frederick urged. “If they are trapped here by the idols, let’s destroy them.”

  And so the four of us went below and removed as many of the idols as we could hold at a time and brought them up to the roof. One by one, we destroyed the cursed talismans, bashing them to bits upon the tiles.

  The torches flared around us, and the top of the pyramid was filled suddenly with a crowd of young men in similar dress to the prince who had spoken with Nekai. They moved about in the half light, drifting among the torches and passing between us, the living, as if floating on the currents of the air. Their handsome faces were bright, smiling, seeming at ease.

  All around us, the feeling of joyful relief was evident. It was so strong a sensation that I felt as if I could reach out and touch it. One by one, the spirits disintegrated, becoming bright pinpoints of light resembling dancing fireflies. I could sense them going up and away, farewelling us as they went. We were left alone, standing atop the pyramid in the inky darkness of the Amazon night.

  “My God above, Frederick!” I cried. “You are an oak!” I took him in my arms and held him tightly against me. “You were so strong, so brave, my love!” I kissed him passionately not caring what Nekana might think about it. She was preoccupied for the moment with Nekai.

  “Come, let us get down from this place. I want to get away from here,” Frederick urged me.

  We took up the torches and began the slow trek back down through the pyramid. None of us spoke much. Frederick and I supported each other, and Nekai and his sister went ahead of us, holding tightly to each other’s hands. When we stood at the open doors of the lower platform, dawn was breaking over the jungle. The pyramid no longer felt ominous or haunted. The poor, trapped spirits of the boys were free at last.

  We made our way down the side of the pyramid very slowly in the faint light, mindful of Nekai’s weakened state. Fortunately, the spirits were now watching out for us and aided with their goodwill, we reached the ground safely. We located the mules and our gear a little way away from the base of the pyramid where we’d left it the day before.

  Nekai and Nekana sat down to rest, and Frederick and I took the larger of the mules, a blanket and some rope and walked around the pyramid to look for Paulo’s body. It took some time to locate it in the dense undergrowth, but we managed to find him lying broken at the base of the pyramid. Frederick and I wrapped his battered body in the blanket, tied it off and laid him across the saddle of the mule, then made our way back to the camp.

  Neither Nekai nor Nekana would look at the body, and that was for the best. We took up our gear, and we headed away from the pyramid. Nekana fell back to speak with me and told me that she wished to make a bonfire and burn the body when we found a suitable spot.

  We traveled a few miles away from the pyramid and managed to locate our former campsite along the blazed trail. Frederick and I cut branches and built a pyre for Paulo, then we placed his body upon it and doused the structure with some kerosene we’d brought along.

  Nekana stood silent for a moment, then bowed her head and spoke a prayer in their language. She would later tell us that it had been a request to the Gods to forgive Paulo for his transgressions and allow his spirit to come to them. She nodded to me, and I threw a match into the flames.

  Nekai leaned against her, and she took him in her arms. The four of us stood sentinel to the destruction of Paulo’s mortal remains and when at long last the fire burned low, Nekana fished his blackened skull from the ashes, cooled it with water from her canteen and wrapped it in a blanket to take back to the village so it could be buried with his family.

  *

  All that day we travelled, resting when we got too tired and stopping to eat when we were hungry. We were all sober after the emotional upheaval of the last two days. As we walked along the blazed trail in single file, Frederick and I leading the mules, I kept remembering the face of the young spirit who had spoken to Nekai. I could see his dark eyes, his full mouth, and the glint of the gold band around his bicep. I could not shake his visage from my memory, and it seemed the farther we went along the trail, the more vivid became that recollection.

  When we finally stopped for the night, we were all still weary and grief stricken. Nekai sat on the ground beside Nekana as she made the last bit of jerky into a meal for us. He leaned against her and cried silently. He was still hurt from his ordeal and emotionally shocked from Paulo’s actions and what he had meant to do. It was a blow that all of us were still reeling from, but most of all Nekai, who had been the intended target.

  I wanted so to take the boy into my arms and comfort him, but I gave him the space he clearly needed. Frederick and I tended to the mules, fetched water and wood and did all the tasks that Paulo had formerly done. We ate in silence and retired to our tents.

  I lay with Frederick on his cot, holding him as he slept and thankful that he was alive and with me. I fought against sleep as long as I could, but it finally took me and I drifted away into dreams.

  It must have been nearly dawn when I woke suddenly. He stood not two feet from me. It was the spirit boy from the pyramid. I sat up to face him. When he spoke, I found that I could understand the words he was speaking to me. He knelt in front of me and reached out, placing his hands on my knees.

  “Years ago, Englishman, your grandfather set free my captive spirit when he took the idol that guarded me. He let me go and I was free. You must let him go, the shaman’s son. He is not for you. You must leave him behind. You must let him go…”

  The image faded quickly away, swept from me with a sudden breeze. I wasn’t sure if I’d imagined it or if it had been real. It mattered not if the spirit had been there with me. His message was true. I knew it in my heart of hearts. Nekai was not mine. He belonged with his people, and I would have to let him go.

  Chapter Sixteen

  The sunlight filtering down through the canvas of the tent woke me, shining against my closed eyelids. I was warm and secure, but I was having a bit of trouble breathing. When I tried to shift on the cot, I came to understand why. Nekai was draped over me, his hand gripping my shirt, his leg thrown across my thighs. He slept like the dead and could not be moved. I tried in vain to wiggle myself out from beneath his substantial weight, but it was pointless. At last I gave up the effort and surrendered my pride.

  “Frederick, my dear, would you be so kind as to assist me with this?” I begged.

  He was propped up on one elbow, smoking a cigarette and grinning like the devil. He crushed out the smoke and stood up stretching slowly and taking his time to cross the tent to me.

  “Why Alfred, what a lovely new blanket you have. Tell me, love, where can I find such a mouth-watering a
dornment?” he teased.

  “Damn it, Frederick. Help me off with him,” I demanded impatiently.

  Frederick chuckled and reached for Nekai’s hand, untwining his fingers from my shirt, then he rolled the heavy boy to one side so I could scoot carefully from beneath him. All that shifting about finally woke Nekai. He sat up, stretching and looking about in confusion. When his eyes met mine, he smiled and reached out, throwing his big, strong arms around me and crushing me against him in a suffocating hug.

  “Well good morning to you too, my handsome boy,” I exclaimed as the air was pushed from my lungs.

  Frederick laughed hysterically and sank down on the tiger skin rug, his arms wrapped round his knees as he attempted to get himself under control.

  “Very funny, love! What would you do if you woke to find yourself in my situation?” I asked with masked irritation.

  Frederick knelt up with a feral look on his face that made the blood run to my groin. He gripped the edge of the cot and glanced from me to Nekai, then the corner of his cupid’s mouth turned up in a dangerous, little grin.

  “What would I do if I woke with a handsome boy in my bed? I think you know what I would do, love,” he growled.

  I watched as Frederick slid his hand up the front of his shirt and slowly unbuttoned it. I was mesmerized with his movements and shocked at his display of sensuality right in front of Nekai. It was enough to unman me, and I couldn’t allow that. I was not going to share either of them with the other. Frederick was unto me alone and Nekai… I knew wasn’t for either of us. At least not each of us at the same time.

  “Frederick, stop. Not in front of the boy,” I protested, reaching out and taking my love’s hand in mine to still it.

  “Oh, and now you have a conscience?” he asked.

  “I won’t corrupt him any more than I have already done. He slept in my bed last night, and I did not touch him. I won’t do it again, Frederick. I was warned by the spirits not to. He is not for me and I know it. I won’t be cruel to him, but I won’t do further than I’ve done.”

  Frederick sat back on the rug and stared at me as though I was a stranger he was beholding for the first time. “You say that to me as you sit there holding him practically in your very lap and he holds you just as tightly. Do you know the jealousy that visual incites in me, Alfred? I cannot compete with his body, his sensuality. I just do not possess that kind of lure.”

  “Hush that foolish talk. You don’t have to compete with him, Frederick. You are my lover and he is not. When we leave this place, I will go with you. He will remain here. I will always love him, yes, but he is not my lover. You are. I choose you, my love. You know that, so let it be enough.”

  I could hear Nekana moving about outside the tent. I knew we had to go forward. She’d told us that Nekai wanted to reach the falls by that evening, and we could camp in our old campsite. The morning after that, we would be on the last leg of our journey back to the village and tonight would be our last night to camp away from it. I slid my hand down and gave Nekai a light smack on his firm bottom then slipped away from him to get washed up.

  I lifted the tent flap and went out to survey the camp. Everything was damp with the early morning dew and a light rain that had fallen in the night. Nekana had drawn her black hair back into a small bun at the base of her neck and was working to get a fire started in the damp wood. I poured a bit of kerosene on the pile for her. After some time, she was able to get a little blaze going. She hung the cooking pot over the flames, then turned to face me.

  “Did you… what did you…” she stammered off for a moment, and I was uncertain what she was trying to ask me. Finally she cleared her throat and continued, though without meeting my eyes. “Did you lay with my brother last night?” she asked, her voice shaking slightly.

  “No. He came into the tent after I was asleep and climbed into my cot. He only slept with me. I did not touch him, and he did not try to touch me. It was innocent on his part, nothing more. He only came to me for comfort,” I answered.

  She made no reply but seemed to be relieved at my admission. Frederick and Nekai came out to join us at that moment, and we made a quick breakfast, all of us eager to continue. Frederick and I fed and watered the mules and packed up the tents and gear. I was tired of camping and moving about. I longed for the tranquility of the little village and hoped we would be able to rest there for at least a few days before going back to Tucupita. This trip had certainly been an adventure, but I had to admit that deep down, I was starting to long for Heathwood and the familiar .

  *

  We reached the damned bridge early that morning, and I came to understand that I would have to be the one leading the small mule across this time. Nekai took Nekana and Frederick over first, just as before. Though Frederick was much more relaxed than he had been when we made our first crossing. He had changed after the pyramid, and I was pleasantly surprised at his newfound bravado.

  I took my smaller mule over without much difficulty and went back to help Nekai with the larger animal. It didn’t balk as it had done on the first crossing and the process went much better for us all around. Still, I was pleased to have the dangerous suspension bridge behind us.

  Nekai was feeling better, and we were able to make a faster pace than we’d made the day before. It was early afternoon when we reached the falls, but he wanted to camp there for the night. We stopped and set up the tents while he and Nekana went down to the water and filled the jugs and canteens. I loved the thunder of the falls on the ground beneath me and the way it seemed to signify the circle we’d journeyed to get back to this point. I recalled that it was here that I’d made my fall from grace. Perhaps here I could make things right once more.

  When our companions returned from the falls, Nekai took his spear and machete and disappeared into the jungle. He was going to hunt for our supper. I would have loved to go with him, but he didn’t offer. My grandfather had carried his guns with him and hunted along the way on his journey. The tiger skin rug in our tent was one of his trophies, but I was not like him in that manner. I did not hunt for trophies. I did it only for food.

  Just as I had begun to worry, Nekai made his appearance carrying two large birds in his hand. Nekana took them from him, scalded them in the boiling water, then plucked the feathers off the carcasses. I helped her cut them up, and she threw them into the pot for our supper. We would eat well tonight. I was looking forward to a full belly and sitting near the warm fire listening to her play her flute and watching Nekai carve his secret a few feet away from her.

  Frederick went back into our tent to lie down and listen to music until supper was ready. I sat beside Nekana watching the pot boil and thinking about nothing in particular. When I felt a light touch, I was startled. Nekai was kneeling beside me, his hand on my shoulder. I looked up into those dark eyes and read the meaning very clearly. He nodded toward the water, and I knew he wanted me to accompany him to the falls. I looked nervously at Nekana and swallowed hard. It was time to make my decision. Go with him or stand firm in my resolve. She would make the decision for me.

  “Go with him. He wants to play in the water, and I don’t want him down there alone. Behave yourself with him, Alfred,” she warned.

  I stood and heaved a great sigh. Could I do as she’d asked? Could I behave myself? Only time would tell the answer. We walked quickly down the now well-trodden path to the falls, and I found it to be just as enchanting as it had been before. I glanced up at falling water and smiled as I recalled the secluded little cave behind the falls and what had occurred there less than a week before. Nekai, sensing my thoughts, reached out and took my hand. He was smiling at me, and I understood that he too was remembering that night.

  God, how can I break his heart again? Why does it have to be this way? Why can I not have them both? I reached out and pulled him against me, tucking his head beneath my chin and wrapping him in my arms. I whispered his name against the top of his head and pressed my lips to his dark hair. My heart was ham
mering within my chest, and my arousal was a wild animal raging inside the cage of my body. He was in my skin, in my soul, and I was in agony with want of him at that moment.

  I could feel his fingertips moving down my back, pulling my shirt from my pants and then his hands sliding up beneath it to grip my shoulders. I pushed him away from me and stood panting, my desire evident in the front of my trousers for all to see. I watched his eyes sweeping over me and I knew that he saw it, as his eyes lingered for a moment before meeting mine. I knew also that it was pointless to fight. I would have to have him again, if not completely, at least in so much as I’d had him before. We were both in need and the edge must be taken off of this wantonness before either of us could go back to his village.

  He reached for my hand again and led me to the water. When we got down to the edge of it, he untied his loincloth and let go my hand, stepping into the water and slipping beneath it with such grace that he made barely a ripple on the surface. I stripped away my clothes and joined him. The water was cool and soft against my hot skin. It was a blessed relief for both the heat and my state of arousal.

  Nekai broke the surface next to me and threw his arms around my shoulders, pressing his lips against mine and throwing himself hard against me. I kissed him back with the same fervent passion as he gave to me. We both knew this would be our last time to be together and we desired a closure that only this kind of loving could give to us. I could feel his need, hard and hot against my own, and I longed to ease it for him.

  He took one of my hands and drew it down his body, pushing it against his arousal as he breathed my name against my lips in a pleading sort of manner. I could not refuse his begging and took him in hand, just as I’d done that first time. He leaned all his weight against me in the water, and I supported him as I gave him pleasure, my mouth seeking his again and again for dizzying kisses that took the breath from both of us. When I felt his hand close around my hardness beneath the water I was surprised at his bravery but pleased that he felt the need to reciprocate.